The New Member
by PlayerWithWords
Summary: Due to shortage of people, Yume is deployed to assist the ninjas. They then embark on their mission to Gakuen Alice, where they have to hide their identities. Worse still, they are now the sole teachers of Physical Education! Preventing them from completing their mission are the many obstacles, physical, emotional and mental. How will they get past them?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Naruto!' or Gakuen Alice. I only own OCs like Yume.

* * *

"Tsunade-baa-chan! What are we waiting for? I wanna know what the mission's about! And why are there so many people? Why aren't you answering me?" Naruto whined.

Tsunade's eye twitched, but she remained composed and kept her eyes closed.

_Where is that girl?_

Naruto continued whining, only to receive an annoyed "Shut up!" from Kiba.

"NO! I WANNA KNOW WHAT I'M HERE FOR!" Naruto screams.

"I said shut up!" Kiba yells back.

They argued back and forth. The rest of the ninjas sighed, used to this. Only Shikamaru bothered to add his signature "Mendokse~" which was rather ironic.

Tsunade rubbed her temples. This was torture. Let the girl come now, please, she begged internally.

Speak of the devil, a girl burst through the doors, offering a casual sounding apology.  
"Wari, wari. I lost track of time." She slid into the space between the wall and another ninja.

Tsunade grimaced. "Okay! Bunch of morons, listen up!" she sounded beyond irritated, immediately ceasing all noise in the room. "There's a really important mission, that's why I need all of you. It's also highly dangerous, yet I am entrusting it to you Genins and... Chunin. We are trying to rebuild our village, so there is a shortage of Chunin and Jounin. We also have a shortage of missions, hence you lot have not been doing much recently. Before I go into the details, I need to check if you all are here."

"Team Asuma! Nara Shikamaru! Akimichi Chouji! Yamanako Ino!" "Hai!" the team promptly responded. "Team Kurenai! Inuzuka Kiba! Hyuuga Hinata! Aburame Shino!" "Hai!" "Team Gai! Hyuuga Neji! Rock Lee! Tenten!" "Hai!" "Team Kakashi! Uzumaki Naruto! Haruno Sakura!" "Hai."  
It was glaringly obvious their team needed one more member. Their voices were softer compared to the others'. Sadder, even.

At this point, Tsunade's voice lost quite a bit of her initial enthusiasm. Who knew taking attendance was that hard? Usually, there were only three-at most, four-but now there were twelve! How troublesome… "Team Anko… Kaida Yume." "Hai!" the girl chirped, not at all fazed by the fact she was the only one in her team. Tsunade continued, "She shall be replacing Uchiha Sasuke and become team 7's temporary member. Is that understood?"

"HAI!" the ninjas thundered.

Tsunade gave a small smirk. "Alright. Now it's time to get into the details of the mission. Make sure the doors and windows are locked. And come closer. No one must know about this."

* * *

Hello! I'm PlayerWithWords, though you might know me from DeviantArt, if you recognize the story. (^.^) Anyway, I'm in Fanfiction now, and I'd appreciate any guidance I receive. Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Gakuen Alice! Only Yume!

* * *

There was an eerie silence in the air as Narumi left. He had just delivered a devastating piece of news. There was going to be a new subject in the curriculum. And not just any subject. It was going to be the horror of horrors. The worst of the worst. The most torturous of all...

Physical Education.

They internally groaned as they thought about it again. They hated this. There would, however, always be someone who had different opinions. This time, it seemed like one person though, really liked the idea, and it was getting on everyone else's nerves.

"Eh? Why is everyone so quiet? We should be happy! PE is so fun. You know, I was really good at it back then in school..." Mikan blabbers on in her cheerful little bubble, ignoring the ominous auras of the rest around her.

Luckily for her, before the annoyed 'uns could pounce at her, the door bursts open, diverting everyone's attention.

"Wari, wari! I guess I do need a watch." The girl sighed. She seemed about their age, their height. If they didn't know better, they would have thought she was a new student. However, there was a huge and noticeable difference between her and themselves.

She was wearing track pants and a hoodie. School rules stated that no student step into class without proper uniform unless given permission. Well, that was what Inchou said anyway. Nobody else really cared about rules. That was enough, however, to plant the sinking suspicion in their minds that this girl... This _girl_, not even a full-grown woman, was going to be... Dare they even think it?

Their teacher.

The girl turned to face her now-students.

"Hello! I'm Kaida Yume. Your sensei for Physical Education. Any questions?" Her short and easy introduction left the students dumbfounded.

No. Way.

The room fell silent. Completely silent. The students were staring at her in disbelief, while she was grinning back at them. Finally plucking up the courage, a brave student broke the silence. He jumped up and asked, "Sensei! Um... I... We... want to know... Just... H-How old are you?"

She hardly showed any hesitation. "12 years. Why?"

The students stared at her wide-eyed and open-mouthed. She was the same age as them!

Murmurs were going around the class. Some seemed like they couldn't care less-Natsume and Hotaru. Some seemed like they were shocked beyond belief-Mikan. While some seemed to just be able to accept that fact-Ruka.

She smiled. She could not really blame them. It _was _quite a shock. Even she was twitching after hearing the plan, but she wanted to believe it would all work out in the end. Her mission wasn't that hard...

_Important mission... Highly dangerous... No one must know about this..._

I-It couldn't be that bad.

She shook her head vigorously, earning weird looks from her pupils.

"Anyway, let's do attendance taking now, since I have the first period of the day," she said, reading from a piece of paper taped to a clipboard she was holding.

She monotoned the names, giving each pupil a quick glance as they yelled, "Hai!" or whatever floated their boat.

"Hyuga Natsume."

No answer.

She looked up.

"Hyuga Natsume-san? Answer if you're here." Perhaps it had been her casual manner and vicious undertones that surprised them when she used honorifics.

She put her clipboard down. "Is Hyuga-san here today?" She directed the question to the class. They immediately broke eye contact with her. Though some brave ones murmured a small "Hai." Luckily, it was loud enough for her to hear.

"Alright, I'll just mark Natsume absent today." Though she pretended otherwise.

Natsume twitched, irritated. Her eyes flashed to that small movement, a hint of a smirk on her face.

"He's over there!" screamed an almost-bald boy in exasperation, pointing to a purple-ish haired boy near him.

She raised a brow. "Oh? Natsume, I expect you to answer next time, or at least give some sign that you're here. Got that?" She slammed her hand on the desk in front of her, staring the boy straight in the face. He narrowed his eyes.

The nearly-bald boy then jumped up and yelled, "Don't talk to Natsume-san like that! You're the same age as us! Who do you think you are?" With, that, he jerked his hands upwards.

Suddenly, Yume felt herself being lifted to the air, in a not-so-gentle manner. She face-palmed. The first day and she's already got rebellious students hating her. She speedily formed some hand seals behind her back, in the least noticeable way possible. She then gestured toward the boy with a buzz cut, just for show.

The boy then found himself completely and utterly drenched. In a fit of shock, he accidentally released his hold on Yume, letting her fall. Fortunately, she did a small balancing turn in the air and landed quietly.

"Respect, my dear, and we can forget everything." She smiled lightly and with a wave of her hand (which again was only for show, hand seals were done stealthily) the water evaporated, leaving the boy's clothes cleaner than before.

"She walked back to the front of the class, pretending nothing had happened, and said in an amiable voice, "Let's continue taking the attendance..."

As soon as the teacher had her head being hidden by the clipboard, the students started whispering among themselves.

"That was actually kinda..."

"Scary..."

"And wet!" That received a few snickers.

Mochiage slumped in his seat, head slightly down, face red as a beet root.

Mikan gazed at the teacher in admiration

"If only I could be like her... Then I wouldn't be bullied by that stupid panty-thief ever again!" she muttered under her breath, shooting Natsume a deadly glare.

Natsume frowned. He wasn't happy about Mochiage being embarrassed by the stupid new teacher, but he had to admit he acted recklessly. Still, she – what was her name again? - seemed like a handful. He hoped she wouldn't get in her way. She was surely one of the minion teachers too.

Had he ever seen someone different?

* * *

Did you remember his name? Mochiage? Sorry Mochiage fans, I like him too! But someone had to be sacrificed, and Mochiage volunteered. Brave boy, ain't he? Well, I guess Yume wasn't the most likeable!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Naruto!' or Gakuen Alice. I only own OCs like Yume.

* * *

We tapped our feet, the teacher inside had already eaten into our time, lecturing in that boring voice of his. He seemed blissfully unaware of the students' fight between sleep and class. Most seemed to have succumbed to the former. We sighed. I hope we would have enough time. Introductions always took the longest time. And this was probably gonna be bad since this was one of the middle school classes. Well, at least it wasn't the high school class.

"Hey, Yume, why so gloomy? You know, actually, this isn't so bad," Tenten, my co-teacher for today, said (we all randomly swapped shifts, though every time, there will be two teachers. So, we work together) She smiled comfortingly. "Really, did you check our curriculum? I'm taking one of the high school classes next week!" She groaned. Though I had only known all of them for a short time, I got along well with most. Some were just shy, but I don't think they hated me or anything. At least, I hoped not.

I laughed. "Ouch. Good luck with that! Do you want me to help you out?"

She shook her head. "It's alright. Lee volunteered. He's so cheerful, maybe the high school-ers will like him." I chuckled.

Right at that moment, we heard the students greet the teacher goodbye. I mentally cheered. The teacher packed his books, then walked out of the class with a slight limp. As he got closer, I could see him better. He had white hair, a little old then, but he had the most curious rings on each of his fingers.

As he walked out, he shook his head, mumbling to himself, "Gah. Troublesome, inattentive middle school kids." Huh. Maybe he wasn't so "blissfully unaware" after all.

Tenten and I took a deep breath. A _deep_ breath. We sauntered in, hearing some gasps here and there. Some 'aww's and some 'WHAT THE HECK's. I understood their feelings. A weird, weird world that knew no end.

We turned to face the class.

"Good morning. We're your Physical Education teachers for today. I'm Tenten and that's Yume." She paused and I waved with a small grin. "In case you were uninformed, there will be two teacher assigned to each class, though the teachers may or may not change each time. Say, next time, Yume might come, but with a different teacher. Or we both will come again. Or two new teachers will come. Either way, there will be two teachers. Also, for the first lesson, we will not have PE, as it is for introductions but for the next lessons, unless we say otherwise, we would like you to assemble outside, at the field. However, if it rains, assemble at the newly constructed sports hall. Is that understood? " The class fervently nodded. Then, Tenten smiled and eased back into her normal, easy-going self. The tension in the room immediately dissipated. "Yup, that's about it! So... Any questions for us?"

Silence filled the air. The students stared at us with a mixture of shock and disbelief, their mouths gaping and their eyes wide, never-blinking. Deja vu. Then, one boy shot at us, "How old are you guys?" And that broke the silence. Everyone started firing questions at us simultaneously. Whether we were dwarfs, why we were wearing something so weird, then, how old we were again, blah blah blah...

"Shh. Quiet. One at a time." I said, holding a finger to my lips. Maybe it was that small authority I had that made them all shut up at once.

"I only heard the question asking about our age and if we were dwarfs," Tenten sighed. "What about you, Yume?" I shrugged. "I just heard one more. Why our clothing was so weird. Anyway, we're 12. Yes, gasp in horror. No, we are not dwarfs. Though I am a little short." Tenten laughed. "Oh, and this is normal where we come from. Which is not around here, so you probably don't know it. And this kind of clothing is more flexible and comfortable to move around in, which is why you will need to wear your PE shirt and shorts for your next PE lesson. Any other questions?"

A girl raised her hand. "What are your Alices?"

Of course. The inevitable question. "Well, I have enhanced muscles that allow me to aim any weapon I have accurately." Tenten scratched her head, blushing a little. Well, that is true. She can aim anything accurately, but it was from years of training and hard work. Not a born alice. I spoke up, "Mine is rather simple. I'm a manipulator of water." Actually, I had a kekkei genkai. A blood limit ability. I was related to the deceased Haku, the famed ice user. I was an ice user too, but since ice was made up of water and air, I could manipulate that too. Water was deemed less dangerous than air, so that was what they told me to stick with.

Another guy raised his hand. "How are you so sure you 12 year olds can handle us middle-schoolers? For one, we'll be stronger, faster, more agile and all that than you, since we're older, so how are you so sure that you should teach is Physical Education, not the other way 'round?" The class gave a deafening cheer, though I did hear a couple of 'give them a break's from a pink-haired girl and a purplish black-haired guy with a star-shaped metallic object on his face. Interesting.

We gave a tortured smile. "How about this: for the simple fact that we can both do this continuously for longer than any of you." I gave Tenten a conspiratorial look when she seemed confused by my words. She nodded and smirked. We gave a preparatory turn as we steadied ourselves. Then we back-flipped.

And back-flipped. And back-flipped, and back-flipped, and back-flipped, all the way round the class, swiftly avoiding tables and chairs, till we came full round, and were back in front of the class again.

"Yeah, I know some of you can do that too, maybe most of you can, but anyhow, I'm sure you'll be convinced after a week in PE." I smiled. "Anyway, oh look! You're teacher's early!" I pointed to the door. "Since we have nothing to say or do now, we'll let your teacher over there take over." The class greeted us goodbye, seeming slightly dazed.

As soon as Tenten and I left the classroom, we high-fived.

* * *

HAH! Did I fool ya? With my short chapter one and long chapter 2? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it!


	4. Chapter 4

I walked to the staff room with Tenten, joking and laughing with her as she pushed open the door. I liked Tenten.

"Kaida...san... I would appreciate it if you didn't make such a ruckus." Misaki said grudgingly. The science teacher seemed relunctant to accept PE into the curriculum. Him and some other teacher with a frog whose name I never bothered to remember were particularly against it. It annoyed us. Quite a lot.

"Ah! Yume! Come here for a while!" Naruto chirped, completely ignoring the aura Misaki was projecting. I smiled.

I jogged towards Naruto's table, which was right next to mine, which was next to Sakura's. How convenient. Our tables were pretty far away from the door. The staff room is a big place, you see. As I jogged, the other teachers, the ones who weren't part of us, either ignored us or shot us daggers. Most of the original teachers were neutral to the idea, a handful abhorred it, and another handful warmly welcomed the idea.

"Naruto, Sakura, what's wrong?" Since they treated me with open arms, and cared not for honorifics, I felt grateful and returned the favour.

Sakura was beside Naruto, leaning back on the desk. "Good morning, Yume," she lowered her volume, "we need to talk." Before I could react, she dragged Naruto and me back. "Kakashi-sensei," she paused and shot me a do-you-know-he-is look. I nodded. She continued, "He has a phone now, and we're all gonna have on too. All of the mission-nins' numbers are keyed, and so are the senseis'. Remember who we have to get close to, and that little side mission." She grinned and winked.

I chuckled and we nodded. Sakura handed us the phones. "Where'd you get them?" Naruto asked. I leaned in, curious. "Shikamaru. Remember when Tsunade asked him to stay after we left? It was probably to give him these." Oh, right, him. I was told he was the only Chunin in the whole gang. That earned my respect almost immediately. I was stuck as a Genin until I could find a team to participate with, but I always heard that the Chunin exams were "hell with less fire but more blood".

"Thanks Sakura. Oh, are any of you free to take up a class tomorrow?" I asked, hopeful.

Sakura shook her head. "Sorry, I agreed to go with Lee."

Naruto shook his head too. "I've got a class with Kiba."

My head drooped. I was looking forward to some bonding with my first ever team mates. Though I was only temporary, it was something I never got a chance to really have. Friends. I joined the academy slightly later – a couple of months – and they said I couldn't join then, since I wouldn't be able to catch up, so I would have to join next year. Luckily, Anko-sensei volunteered to teach me, and then we always had one-to-ones. Anko-sensei was busy, but she always squeezed in time to teach me, and though the timings were (extremely) inconsistent, I had a lot of fun.

But I never had classmates. Team mates. The genin exam I had to go through myself. Most teachers told their students that only nine students had passed the genin exam, when ten did. Most teachers didn't know about me. Though this time, now that they've entrusted me with a really important mission, I was happy. I was going to do my best. Especially, when I now have team mates. And friends.

Naruto and Sakura became slightly flustered by my obvious sadness.

"Yume! It's alright! You can ask Ino... Though she'll probably be with Hinata..." Sakura said sheepishly.

"How about Shikamaru? Wait, I think he'll be with Chouji. Heh." Naruto scratched his head.

I stopped them. "It's alright. Thanks though!" I smiled and started prancing around the staff room, looking for someone who was free.

He had his head bowed, seemingly engrossed in paperwork or something. Yes, even Physical Education teachers have loads of paperwork. Even when we're fake teachers. I rather hated paperwork. So, he either loves paperwork or he's very serious... I shall assume it's the latter.

"Hyuuga-san?" No response.

Wow, very serious.

I gently touched his shoulder. He whipped around, face as smooth and blank as a still river. It was rather scary, a different kind of scary you'd see with Anko-sensei.

"Hyuuga-san, are you free to take up a class tomorrow?" I asked, automatically masking my "fear". It was something Anko-sensei taught me very well.

His brows shot up slightly, _very_ slightly, as if he was surprised. "Yes, I am, Kaida-san. What time is that class?" His easy agreement kind of shocked me. "It's at 8.30am. It's their first class. At the 1A classroom."

He nodded and returned to his paperwork. What a professional guy. He's probably one of the few that can earn my respect almost instantly. The others being Shikamaru and Anko-sensei. And Tsunade-sama. And maybe Shizune-san. Yeah, that's about it.

"Thanks, Hyuuga-san. Um... Can I call you by your first name?" I asked bashfully. I knew it was rude to make such a transition when we barely knew each other but I had a feeling the students would find it awkward that the teachers talk to each other so distantly.

The Hyuuga nodded stiffly. I grinned, "Thanks, Neji-san. You're free to call me by my first name too. With or without honorific. It doesn't matter to me that much." After hearing my words, he seemed to relax. "The same pleasure applies to you, Yume-san." I smiled again. Neji doesn't seem as mean as the rumours say.

"Thanks, Neji!" It was the third time I said thanks, and every single time, it just got more intimate. Yeah, I really liked Neji. He honestly wasn't that bad.

He nodded his head, this time cracking a small but extremely rare smile.

And then, for perhaps the hundredth time today, I beamed.


	5. Chapter 5

The class whispered amongst themselves, imagining what their first lesson of outdoor PE would be like. They were in the field, wearing their new PE uniforms. They sure seemed more comfortable than their normal uniforms.

Neji and I walked towards the class. Neji, with his thumbs in his pockets, and his face emotionless, was cool as always. I, with my light steps and forever-smirk was me as always.

"Hello!" I greeted them. They jumped and spun around to face us. A sandy haired boy with thick glasses called for the class to bow and greet us. I smiled and we acknowledged their greeting.

I knew Neji wasn't going to talk much in situations like this, so I was going to be the one giving most of the instructions.

"Alright, for this whole year, which is the experimental year, we're going to have four modules. One module for each term. The first module would be the limbs. We'll work on the hands and legs. The extremities. It'll be fun, right Neji–" Then it struck me.

"Apologies, I should have waited. Remember what I said last week about the arrangements of the teachers? Well, today, it'll be me and him, Neji-san." I gestured for Neji to introduce himself.

Neji started out calm and confident - as always. "I am Hyuuga Neji. I am a year older than Yume-san, and I have a sister that is also here with us. Hyuuga Hinata. Perhaps you may see her at the hallways." Another lie we had to go with. They look so alike at first glance, with their grey, pupil-less eyes, which was their most striking difference with us and their most obvious similarity with each other.

The class seemed in shock – yet again, people really must get over all this – and stayed silent, unable to ask questions as they normally might have. Or might not. Eh.

"Anyway, we're running out of time. Less talk, more walk!" I clapped my hands. Once, twice, thrice. "Up on your feet!" The class stood up, a couple of slightly more perky ones jumped up, though one girl with pigtails in particular practically leaped up. Ah. How cute, I like her already.

"Alright! A couple of warm ups! Neji-san, could you lead them?" I asked, slightly timid. I mean, look at his face, look at his emotions. That's right, he appears to possess _none at all_. How, tell me how, is that not the least bit scary?

Neji nodded wordlessly, and commanded in a clear voice, "Lift your head up." He pushed his head up. I gestured for the clueless students to follow. As Neji went over the basic stretching, I tried my best to gently adjust those who seemed to not know what they were doing.

Once all the stretching was finished, Neji told the students to jog ("Take your time.") around the 250m track once. Unfortunately, though none of the students were overweight... They sure were unfit. Although a _certain_ purple-haired boy was jogging at a steady pace ahead of the others, along with that bouncy little girl lagging behind.

Neji leaned against the pillar, beside the bench where I was relaxingly sipping my water.

"Yume-san."

I blinked. "Yes? And you can drop the honorifics."

He cleared his throat. "Yume. For the activities I assume we can swap roles now?"

"Roles?"

"Well, where you are the one giving instructions, and I partake in rectifying their mistakes."

I resisted the urge to laugh. Such formal vocabulary from the man of few words! His brain never rested while his lips stayed shut, huh?

"Okay! It's fine with me!" I grinned.

He nodded.

At that very moment, the purple-haired boy slowed down and stopped right in front of us. The cheery sunshine also skidded to a stop, almost crashing into the boy. He shot her an annoyed look while she stuck his tongue out at him.

I chuckled. "You two are pretty fast. What's your names?" I asked for the benefit of Neji. Okay, maybe I did forget his name. I usually remember faces, not names!

Sunshine gave me a _huge _smile. "Sakura Mikan, sensei!" How cute.

Purple stared at us for a long time, before finally giving a monotonous, "Hyuuga Natsume." He directed a raised eyebrow at me.

"Neji!" I gasped in mock-surprise, then laughed.

Neji scrutinised the pair before us, then gave me a subtle nudge. I bit my lip.

"Natsume-san. Can I call you that?" His eyes widened, but he nodded. He must be thinking that I was bipolar. Poor kid. I continued, "Natsume-san, you are pretty fast, and possess good stamina, since you're didn't even break a sweat, unlike Mikan over there. Good job, keep up the good work, okay?" I smiled at Natsume. What a kid. Kid, even though we're the same age. Oh well. That's life.

"Mikan!" I cooed. "Sensei~!" she imitated, giggling. "Good job. Keep it up, okay?"

"AAARRRGGHH!" came the moans of agony from the students as they tumbled forward, one after another, beneath our feet. They were a huge stack of sweat, grime and dirt. Plus, they smelled bad. Sour. Sweaty. Aww. Poor kids. When the teachers warned us how bad the students' stamina were, I sure didn't expect it to be this bad. This is like, Sadako-crawling-out-of-the-television unexpected.

"Guys, it's okay. C'mon, stand up! That's why we told you to run at your own pace. Don't run so fast if you're gonna tire so easily. It's just not good for your body! Or your soul! Alright, anyway, stand up, stretch, cool down and let's have some fun!" I punched a fist in the air, amidst the groans of the students.

I led them into the field, where three agility ladders were placed. "Okay! So these are called 'Agility Ladders". There are a bazillion ways to use them, but in the end, you don't just train your agility, you get to train your speed and co-ordination, and motor skills too. Very useful. Anyway, for the first exercise, you just have to run over the ladder, but not trample over them. As in, a hole, a foot, at a time." I gestured to Neji. "Neji, demonstrate, will you?" Neji immediately slid to the start of the ladder, then began to swiftly run through the ladder without much difficulty at all. Wow. My hero.

The students then began to line up and begrudgingly ran over the ladders. Again, Natsume was pretty much the best, and Mikan was a close runner-up.

That cycle pretty much went on for all of the exercises. Which apparently, _sucked_ for the other kids. Oh well.

That's life.


	6. Chapter 6

"The Culture Festival is coming again, my dear teachers..." A senior teacher stood in front, giving us a lecture on the Culture Festival. This lecture was redundant, because we had all received emails – very, very, very detailed ones at that – regarding the festival, hence the boring nature of this lecture.

No one was really paying attention, and that senior teacher didn't even seem to care. I subtly yawned. Narumi (one of the few teachers that actually welcomed us) poked me slightly. We were in the back row, together with the other ninjas. I blinked and turned to him.

"Hey, hey Yume-chan~! You took my class, with that cute Mikan and Natsume inside right~?" he sang.

I chuckled. "Yes, we did. Me and Neji. They were perfect, really!"

"Oh~? Are you sure you're not lying to make me feel better, Yume-chan~?"

I vigorously nodded.

He laughed quietly. "Yume-chan, treat them extra nice, okay?" he smiled, his tone serious. I, taken aback, could only swallow and gulp. "Okay." I mumbled. I mean, the few times I had conversed with Narumi, he seemed to not even understand seriousness. Also, I could deduce that from the many times Misaki (He treated us much better now, though that frog still seems to hate us.) chased him down the halls, yelling that he was quote;unquote, serious this time. Yeah, Narumi does not understand 'serious'.

The bell rings. "... Good luck, then." And with that, the senior teacher bowed and left. Probably to get food. I mean, we're hungry too.

"Yume-chan! Let's go grab some food! I NEED RAMEN!" Naruto hollers desperately at me. "Um... Okay? Narumi-san, would you like to join us?" Narumi politely shook his head. "Ah, no. I have things to settle." Naruto then proceeded to shout from his desk, "HEY! ANYONE WANNA GO GET SOME FOOD?!" Upon hearing that, all of the ninja and a couple of the other teachers streamed outside, heading for the dining hall.

As usual, I finished my food much earlier than the rest, because they were really slow, for some reason. Well, either that or I was really fast, but Anko-sensei used to be _way_ faster than I was. Ah... I miss Anko-sensei already...

The ninjas and few teachers chatted and complained and joked. Laughter was echoing from our huge table. The other teachers - the ones who didn't like us – looked at us in disgust and the teachers who had joined us in disbelief. Oh well. Joking lasted for two hours, I'd say, then, we started to leave one by one, heading for classes or back to the staff room. For some reason, I was the last few to leave. Only Naruto, Hinata, (She's a sweet-heart.) Shikamaru, Kiba, Ino, Sakura and Misaki stayed back. The poor guy was being harassed by the ninjas, except Hinata, who was blushing whenever Naruto asked her a question, and Shikamaru, who was snoring lightly.

"Bye!" I waved to them, and got a chorus of 'bye's back. I still cannot believe how easily they accepted me. I feel so indebted to them. I should do something for them. Like... Make them lunch boxes everyday! Or wash their clothes! Or... As I thought, I started to walk leisurely around the school. I had nothing to do anyway. Wa~ What a beautiful place!

Suddenly,

"_**AAAAHHH!**_"

A huge group of students screamed and charged towards me. I yelped and leaped aside, clear away from the crazy people. I turned my head and stared as they continued rushing forwards, not even noticing the fact that they had almost trampled me. What. The. _Heck_?

I watched after them, screaming, flailing their hands.

...

Now, did I forget any important events? I usually only scan through the e-mails, and for some reason, they like to jam-pack one e-mail with loads of information, dates, people... Just so many things. Huh.

...

...

...

Oh yeah! Today's the day Mouri Reo's coming back! How did these kids find out so fast? It's barely been a day! Too bad I don't know who he is. Well, actually, none of us really knew who Mouri Reo was. That's right, not even Sakura and Ino. Unfortunately. So we were unable to comprehend their excitement.

I remember asking Naruto when Sakura and Ino had gotten extremely excited, like how Reo's fans get excited over him, since they cheered when they heard a famous person was coming over, but face-palmed when they found out it was Reo. I was curious. And as Anko-sensei taught me, when you don't know, ask LIKE A BAWS. Naruto's usual cheerful demeanor immediately dimmed at my question. And that was when I knew I did something wrong. His head bowed, and I could see him crush his lip with his teeth. He suddenly tensed up, so I gently touched his arm. So stiff.

"Naruto, it's okay, you don't have to answer me!" I chirped.

He turned his head away from me. I could see his shoulder shake, slightly. Was he crying? Or was he just extremely angry? I've never seen Naruto like this. Sure, I haven't known him for very long, but this... Was a whole new dimension.

"N-Naruto?" This was really scaring me. I mean, I do not stutter.

"Sasuke," he whispered.

"... Uchiha?"

"Sasuke. They had this huge crush on him. And they were always so excited when they saw him. Sakura-chan... She even grew to _love _Sasuke. But Sasuke can't tell right from wrong anymore, Yume! He... He... He..." After a moment of silence, he whipped his head around to look me seriously in the eye.

"But you know, Yume, I won't give up on him. I know Sasuke's good. He's just being misled, that's all. He'll come around. I'll make him come around. I'm sure you've heard rumours about him," he gave me a bitter smile. " And some are right. He is cool. He is powerful. He is a genius. But he's not cold. Not heartless. Yume, he saved me on our first mission. We met Zabuza and Haku." Zabuza? Haku? Haku was a _very_ distant relative of mine. And I knew he was dead. I knew he was with Zabuza. And what's more, I knew they were both a powerful and lethal combination. How come Naruto's still alive?! "Yeah, and Sasuke saved me, you know. He took all those attacks for me, even when he thought he was going to die from the needles, because he thought they were poisoned.

"He still took them for me. He used his whole body to block Haku's needles. He saved me, but it was only our first mission. How well could he have known me? And of course, though we didn't seem like it... He became my best friend, and I don't make friends with bad guys, even if I was desperate to have friends. He's good, I'm sure of it. He'll realise his mistakes. He'll come back. I'll make him. Even if it costs me my life."

And that was the end of our conversation.

It never really struck me until then how much the two of them – heck, all of them – cared for Sasuke. It reminded me that I was a replacement, and only for the team, never in their hearts. I believe Sasuke wasn't all that bad. Anko-sensei told me about him. She was the invigilator for the second round of the Chunin examinations. What Naruto said had ignited something in me. What? I don't know.

I was ripped from my thoughts by a loud screech.

"REO-KUN~!"

Then the roar of an engine.

Then a scuffle broke out.

I tried to move to the front, to see what was going on, but a chorus of 'NOT FAIR's and the fighting of the students prevented me from seeing what was going on. I wanted to spit at them, actually. I really don't like this.

I sighed. I can't see anything. At all. Gah these wild idiots. I, Kaida Yume, from the very bottom of my heart and soul, I have no wish greater than to gurgle and launch my spittle at them, all the while hoping that my sputum would miraculously mutate once it intuited there were schlemiels in the vicinity, causing these cretins to suddenly implode upon contact with my bodily fluids. Whoops. Right there was an example of being with Anko-sensei for too long. Anyways, to address the problem of vision... Hmm... I looked up. Ah! How perfect! I jumped and grabbed onto the convenient branch that was hanging above me and swung myself on it. I squinted as my eyes tried to focus on the object of the students' attention.

Gordon Bennett.

Please tell me my eyes are lying to me.

Why is Mikan and this other girl chasing after a car. I'm pretty sure it's Mouri Reo's car. Are they that obsessed with him? I could see the guards speaking hurriedly into their (wait, what?) watches. They probably would've chased after the girls but they were trying to hold the rest of the students back, who were chanting, "Not fair! Not fair! Not fair!"

What's going on?! I have to go get help. Or _something_!

I leaped down from the branch and sprinted towards the staff room.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I happen to not own Gakuen Alice or 'Naruto!' or any of their characters or settings. If I did, I would be rich. I only own OCs like Yume-chan!

* * *

"Natsume kidnapped… I can't believe it! The school hospital is under such tight security! Not to mention it was by Mouri Reo, too," a familiar voice huffed in the nearby bushes

"How am I supposed to know." Another impassive voice replied.

There was a silence.

I stilled, my ears perking up. I had momentarily forgotten why I had been running. This was all a reflex.

The impassive voice continued, "Anyway, Mikan has always been a horrible liar. It's not possible that she was lying. Let's get this recording to Narumi-sensei or someone who can help Mikan and Natsume."

A huge eagle swooped down to the bushes.

Simultaneously, I swerved over to come right in front of the two having the conversation.

"R-Ruka-san? Hotaru-san?"

"Yume-sensei!" Ruka yelped in shock, while Hotaru's eyes grew wide. They took a step backwards.

I moved closer to them.

"WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED?!" I yelled.

Hotaru sighed. They looked at each other. She grimaced (Well technically, she was always trapped in a grimace) and calmly said, "Sensei, could you take us to see Narumi-sensei? We have something very important to tell him."

There was a silence.

I nodded slowly, wordlessly heading for the staff room, checking every few minutes to make sure they were following me: Ruka, with a bird perched on his arm, and Hotaru clenching her fist tightly. Was she holding something? It seemed mighty important too.

I pushed open the door of the staff room.

"Narumi-san, come out for a minute please!" I hollered, then let the door close as we waited for Narumi outside.

I crossed my arms, leaning against the wall, head down. Ruka cradled one of his hands, his eyes darting all over the place. The bird had flown away. His only source of comfort was gone. Hotaru had her eyes closed, her right fist closed.

Silence. Again.

Perhaps all three of us were thankful to be freed of the depressing mood when Narumi burst out of the door.

"What's wrong?" he directed the question to me.

"Your students need to talk to you." I gestured towards the two.

Hotaru held out her right fist, then opened it. A ring lay in the centre of her palm. It was very curious-looking, like the accessories I had seen teachers and students here don. She explains that she and Mikan and a couple of other students had tried to sneak into the hospital. She talks about the use of the ring, then plays a recording for us to listen to.

As she continues explaining in a level but fast voice, Narumi and I nod vigorously at several points, urgency building up in our bodies. Ruka seems to slowly fade into the background, deep in thought about something.

"So Natsume was kidnapped by Reo and now Sumire and Mikan are trying to rescue him?" Narumi asks.

Hotaru nods.

Narumi makes a small, strangled sound. A pause. He thinks for a minute. Suddenly, he pushes us into the staff room while telling us that he was going to the hospital, plus the P.E. teachers were looking for me. As we turned to face him, he had already shut the door in our faces and taken off.

Hotaru and Ruka stare at the teachers busily working on their laptops and screaming at each other or into their phones. It was probably an uncommon sight to them. Heck, it was to us too!

"Ruka-san, Hotaru-san." I broke the silence. "I'm sorry for overreacting just now. And for screaming. It's just sometimes I get worried. Sorry about that." I scratched my head, still too depressed to flash a grin.

"It's okay, Yume-sensei. We're worried too. We understand." Ruka's eyes softened and he gave me a small, reassuring smile. Wow. He sure seems nice. That's actually quite unexpected, considering the number of times I have heard squeals of girls going, "KYAAH! Ruka-sama is soooo cold! But that's totally okay, because he's so _fine._"

I smiled back. "You two should take a seat. I'll go over to the others." I stopped, remembered something, and turned back. "By the way, since we're outside of class, the two of you can just call me 'Yume'. No need for honorifics and all that outside of class. We're the same age, remember?"

Before I could get a reply, I remembered the nins and jogged over to Naruto's table, where – for some reason - all of the ninja were crowded around.

"Naruto?" I tilted my head.

Sakura turned to me. "Ah! Yume! You know what's going on right? Misaki-san just explained the situation to us but you missed it."

"I know what's going on. Some students told me about the whole thing." That got a few confused looks.

I immediately regurgitated whatever Hotaru told me to them.

"Ah…"

"Wow, seriously?"

"I sure hope they're okay…"

"…"

I nodded, pursing my lips. "I wonder what Narumi-san went to do though."

"I went to the library, Yume-chan~!"

We whipped our heads to the source of the voice.

Narumi waved to us and gave us a cheery wink, before turning to the busy teachers, sighing. His face dissolved into a solemn look as he processed something. He called out, "Jinno-sensei, excuse me for bothering you, but these children," he waved to Hotaru and Ruka "have something to tell you."

Jinno (or as we prefer to call him, 'the frog') grimaced. "Narumi-sensei, this is not the time!" He growled.

Narumi persisted. "After hearing their story, I searched Hyuuga Natsume's hospital room. It was empty. There was no sign of him anywhere near the hospital."

Jinno became dumbstruck. "You can't be suggesting that-"

Hotaru cut him off, holding up the ring. "Mikan told me that Mouri Reo kidnapped Hyuuga Natsume, and this is proof." She paused. As some form of emotion seeped into her face, she looked up at the teachers, eyes earnest. "Catch Reo, please. They are now most likely in the hands of Mouri Reo and his men."

Ruka bit his lip. "Please."

* * *

A/N: Okay, so if you're a rabid fan of Gakuen Alice, you might have noticed that I altered some things. (E.g. Ruka didn't add something after Hotaru spoke. And that Jinno didn't say anything after Narumi said Natsume was missing.) And that I will go along with the manga. I was extremely unsatisfied with the anime ending TT_TT Plus, Mikan and Natsume_! Oh, you know what they did ^_-

Also, thanks for sticking around! I was overseas, and I'm going overseas again! Tonight! So, see you in a couple of weeks. Sorry I could only provide a chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

The room grows silent.

Naruto is the first to react. He directs a gentle smile to the two students. "We'll do everything we can to get them back. I promise." He vows, forcing another smile. He then sends the other teachers some sort of hand signal, which causes them to continue bustling around the staff room like bees. Narumi waves me over. "Yume-chan! Come here for a minute~!"

I shoot Naruto and Sakura an apologetic look before jogging over to Narumi and the two despondent-looking student. He winks at me before leaning down, near my ear, and whispering, "Yume-chan, could you bring those two outside. We'll keep you updated if anything goes on, okay?"

I nod. Lips trembling slightly, I turn to the pair.

Hotaru has her eyes closed, breathing deeply, her dainty hands fisted, shaking, by her sides. Ruka is looking away, staring out of the window, his eyes glazed. His whole body seems limp, slowly dissolving into the atmosphere.

I snap my fingers. Ruka jerked to a wake while Hotaru calmly turned to me."You two wanna come outside with me? We shouldn't get in the way of the teachers who know what they're doing, right?" I grin, my lips feeling too tight.

Ruka's eyes soften. "Okay, but we have to be immediately informed if anything happens!" I nod, biting down on my lip.

Hotaru sighs. "I think I'll stay here instead. Mikan's too stupid for her own good."

Ruka looks to her, then to me. "Yeah, maybe I should - "

She cuts him. "No. Go with Yume-sensei. You won't be of much help anyway."

Ruka grows silent. I could hear the sound of him gnashing his teeth. Before anyone of us could react, he'd walked outside and slammed the door behind him.

Ouch.

I pursed my lips. "Hotaru-san, that was a little uncalled for."

She looked to me, eyes boring into mine. It seemed like she was trying to understand something. See something. My soul? Intimidated, but standing firm, I waited. Finally, she spoke.

"Sometimes, it's the only thing that helps, sensei."

I chuckle. "And I'm supposed to be the sensei."

"Well, you are the same age as us, so it's understandable."

I laugh. "Not even intellectually superior too. Anyway, keep us up-to-date, Hotaru-san." I nod to the ninjas and sprint outside, scanning the surroundings for signs of a handsome, depressed and angry boy flocked by hormonal girls.

Oh.

Found him.

He was sitting on a bench, face buried in his hands, barely moving. No crazed fangirl was even watching him from afar. Was it class time? I gingerly walked closer to him. Only my footsteps made any was alone. Completely, utterly alone.

And...

Scared?

As I finally edged to his side, I could see his despair. Almost taste it on my to tongue. I wanted to do something. To help this boy who looked so lost. To reassure him. To tell him everything was going to be alright. Tentatively, I reached out hand my to touch his shoulder.

His head flew up.

My hand snapped back to my side.

"Ruka-san..." I was at a loss of words.

His face turns stoic almost immediately. "Y-Yume-sensei."

We stared at each other for a minute or so.

"Is something the matter, sensei?" He asked, confused.

I sigh and shake my head, plopping down on the seat next to him. "Nothing's wrong." I could feel his puzzled gaze on me, but after realizing I was outside because of something Narumi had said, he turned away and ignored my presence.

I peeked at him from the corner of my eyes. Why did he pretend nothing had happened when he realized I was beside him? Was he trying to be cool in front of his sensei, even at a time like this, because of the rumors of 'Cold Prince Ruka' and his pride? Or was it just a reflex? Not wanting anyone to find out his pain, his weakness, because he's afraid... Of something?

Suddenly, he flipped around to face me, an urgent edge in his voice, "Yume-sensei! Will anyone inform us if they get any news on Natsume?" His face flooded with emotion, eyes earnest, brows furrowed, biting down so hard on his lip it might draw blood.

His worry and urgency felt so raw, so different from the stoic expression he had given me before.

I clenched my fists to prevent myself from acting in some sort of inappropriate manner. Pulling my lips into a smile, forcing myself to push down the involuntary twitches in my lips.

His emotion was so raw, I felt like I wanted to cry.

"They definitely will. Hopefully, they'll get the nin - PE teachers, because they run faster." I smiled again. "Oh, and you can honestly call me 'Yume' outside of class, I won't mind. But I'll only be giving you that privilege, okay?" I felt like I was talking to a child, though Ruka was most definitely a couple of centimeters taller than me.

He nodded slowly. "Yume... san," he hurriedly adds, shooting me a ghost of a grin.

"You can drop the formalities. Outside of class and only you though!"

"Yume... You have an interesting name, sen-" he stops himself, shakes his head and visibly relaxes.

"You too, Ruka. By the way, what's your Alice?" It seemed to be the standard icebreaker around here.

"Oh... Well..." A light pink colour tints his cheeks. Fangirls must die to see this. "Th-The Animal Pheromone Alice."

"Is it like Narumi-san's?"

He peeks at me from under his lashes, looking embarrassed beyond belief. He must be telling me all this because he's been drilled to think that I'm his sensei, and he must spill all. Oh well. I did try.

"Y-yeah. Kind of like that."

"Oh."

Awkward silence filled my ears.

Looking at him, I immediately blurted out, "Does that mean you do animals?"

His eyes widen, like a deer caught in headlights. Cheeks flaming, he bows his head, avoiding eye contact with me as a hand covers his mouth and also not-so-subtly attempts to hide his blushing cheeks as well. If fangirls die to see him blush slightly, they must go on killing sprees to see _this._

I chuckle. "I'm just kidding, don't take it so seriously."

An abashed little giggle bubbles from his lips. "N-No, it's okay. Well, it's not like that, but... I... just get really happy around animals..."

I could almost hear the rest of his words. _And that isn't like the Ruka everyone else knows._ Heck, this embarrassed Ruka isn't the one everyone knows either.

I turn away, head resting on my palm, with my elbow propped against my knee. The clouds were lazily moving across the sky, the wind occasionally brushing my cheeks. It was a totally different picture from the anxiety that was definitely going on inside the staff room.

I sighed softly.

"YUME! YUME!" a familiar voice screeched.

Before I could react, someone had already grabbed me.

"Ino?" I looked at the slightly red-faced female.

"They said they've got news! They told me to get you!" Ino rushed out in one breath.

Ruka immediately jumped up and sprinted back, leaving behind a trail of dust and the two of us staring blankly at him.

"I never knew the students were capable of running that fast," Ino muttered.

"Me neither. WAIT NO LESS TALK MORE WALK LET'S GO!" I shrieked, tugging Ino along with me as I dashed back into the staff room

* * *

**A/N: An update for 'The New Member'? Spiff-tastic! ^^**


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